After suffering a house fire, it can be difficult to know what to do next. These steps will help you get back on your feet and get your energy bills back in order.
What should I do?
- Firstly, arrange a visit from your local DNO (Distribution Network Operator) to ensure the property is deemed safe.
- You’ll also require an electrician’s report to make sure all the internal wiring is safe.
- If your meter is damaged, call us to arrange for a new meter to be installed.
Will I be charged for this period?
Before we can determine whether you’ll be billed for this period, we need to make sure you have a new meter installed. Once installed we’ll need to investigate:
- When the fire happened
- What damage was done to the meters
- When the meter was removed
- When a new meter was installed
- If there was any work being done on the property before a new meter was installed
- Where power in the property may have been used (depending on the damage caused)
We’ll also need reads from the new meter to determine what the usage may have been for that period of time.
If the meter was completely damaged, then we won’t charge you for that period as there would have been no fuel going through the meters. Instead, we’ll calculate what you’ve been billed for this period and credit it to your account.
If there was no damage to the meters, then we’ll need to look at whether the property was habitable or not, as energy may have been used if there wasn’t any damage to the meter.